IPE Mission Statement

IPE Program Outcomes

The WesternU graduate will:

Demonstrate an understanding of the roles and responsibilities of other health professionals.Demonstrate an understanding that each healthcare profession and practitioner possesses unique skills and perspectives that can improve the quality and safety of healthcare across professions and across species.Provide and promote a team approach to patient care and health management.

Our goal is to produce health providers with one focus – the patient.

It is important for students to recognize the roles and responsibilities of other health professionals early in their education. As students learn how to provide clinical care, they will have opportunities to work in a team. These learning activities will produce a new type of health care professional. Ultimately patients will benefit from this type of collaborative health care.

The University evaluates the IPE program outcomes on a short, intermediate and long term basis. Our goal is to demonstrate the impact of IPE education and training on the perspectives of our graduates and the patients they ultimately serve.

Why IPE?

WesternU was the first institution to develop a comprehensive program helping students from nine distinct health professions to learn how to work as a cohesive health care team. Why have we done this? Because:

As national health care organizations and employers emphasize the importance of a team-based approach to health care, it is likely that training as part of an interprofessional health care team will enhance graduates’ resumes and increase their employment opportunities.The growing number of elderly with chronic conditions will make coordinated care even more essential and valued.The emergence of infectious, zoonotic diseases impacts all health professions.Patients will receive timely care from the most appropriate health care providers – minimizing cost and maximizing patients’ potential for improvement and recovery — thanks to the collaborative care that can be created as the result of interprofessional education.Our students graduate with a distinctive collaborative training and outlook which will ultimately benefit patients.